Mit Brennender Sorge (1937–2027): A Nonagenary Reflection on the Genesis, Clandestine Dissemination and Impact on Church-State Diplomacy

On Palm Sunday, 21 March 1937, Pope Pius XI's encyclical Mit brennender Sorge (With Burning Concern) was read from the pulpits of all the German Catholic Churches. Composed entirely in German rather than the traditional ecclesiastical Latin and addressed directly to the German Church, the encyclical categorically denounced the violation of the Reichskonkordat, the deification of the state and the idolatry of race and nation. This document was certainly an attempt of the Church to confront Hitler and his ideology. This encyclical represented a significant development in the modern Church-State relationships and has much to offer to the contemporary problems faced by the Vatican in international diplomacy. While celebrated as a courageous criticism of Nazism and a transnational policy influencer, the story of this encyclical is not without historiographical complexity. This paper offers a critical, nonagenary reflection on the historical context, genesis, composition and the impact of the encyclical by analysing a vast body of primary and secondary sources. By presenting both the critics and the advocates of the encyclical, this paper aims to arrive at a clearer historiographical perspective.

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